Dynatrac Free-Spin kits (getting rid of unit bearings)

[ttengineer]

You dont. Especially if you have a (noisy) diesel and/or tires.

And with the unit bearings, the bearing cages themselves are plastic.
When things go sideways, they go sideways fast.

With the set Ive pulled off of this truck, there wasnt even any play, or even a vibration.
And having the (quiet) 6.2 I noticed noise that came and went.

I even had the local tire shop road test it. They told me it was likely tires.
Wrong wrong wrong....

I felt and herd mine. It was obvious when making a turn on the highway.

Jacked the truck up for inspection, and the whole damn wheel would move an inch in any direction.

I’m not saying your wrong, but if you experience catastrophe, I seriously feel like you have been ignoring at least one obvious issue.


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[IdaSHO]

They fail in a variety of ways, and yes, there will always be some indicators.

But.... much of it, as it progresses can be masked by other road/vehicle noises.
And by the time you actually know what's up, it can be a seriously dangerous situation.

If yours actually had that much play, you got incredibly lucky.
The ABS error light typically turns on far sooner than that.

This particular set I pulled off of this truck, had a completely dry/failed bearing, that was still tight.
Very little play. But dry enough that once off the truck, you can barely spin it by hand, and crunchy as hell.

 

[IdaSHO]

Still waiting on that replacement stub. It didnt show yesterday, so most likely monday.
I've done all the prep though, so it wont take long once it arrives.

I was able to get the passenger side done this morning.
Went fine, and is straight forward.
Hubs are certainly longer. With my 35's, the very outermost portion of the Warn lockout it essentially flush with the outermost of the tire.
Certainly fine for me. This isnt a rock crawler

 

[Buddha.]

I once tried to do an alignment on a late 90’s f150. I tried to put the sensor thing on the drivers side tire and the thing was flopping around like crazy bad. 3-4” back and forth, it was insane.
It had wide offset wheels, those seem to kill the unit bearings.

 

[IdaSHO]

Also, for those keeping track....

This does not appear to be correct.

Be warned, each side uses about 16oz of grease.

Using a bearing packer and filling the center of the hub (between inner and outer bearings)
as required per Dynatrac used essentially an entire 16oz tub, for BOTH sides.

So approx 8oz per side. 16oz TOTAL.

 

[ttengineer]

Also, for those keeping track....

This does not appear to be correct.




Using a bearing packer and filling the center of the hub (between inner and outer bearings)
as required per Dynatrac used essentially an entire 16oz tub, for BOTH sides.

So approx 8oz per side. 16oz TOTAL.

My Ram version ate up almost 2 full cans with the dynatrac lock rings.


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[IdaSHO]

That's nice

'cause this didn't. But I did go with the Warn Premiums.

Do the Dynatrac locking hubs take that much grease???
The warns do not. And Ive seen more problems with over-greasing warn hubs than anything.

 

[ttengineer]

The dynatrac hubs are a stronger design over the warns, and are a way more low profile option.

The lock rings don’t take up that much grease though. Most of the grease sits between the large bearing and seal and the gap between both bearings.

The last thing you want is for the grease to be thrown from the bearings with centrifugal force. When I spoke to Cody at dynatrac about it he said pack the hubs slap full. So I did.

Going on 30k miles and no issues.


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[IdaSHO]

The strength and height of the Dynatrac hubs is a moot point for me.
We are talking less than a half inch per side, and I've never in my life broken a Warn. Until I do, Ill save the coin and stick to Warn.
The Dynatracs do look nice though.

As for grease, I hope you are not overpacked. By the book, you are.
I much prefer to follow the written instructions included with the kit then some knucklehead that happened to answer the phone.
No matter how up the ladder that knucklehead may be. If they wanted the entire hub filled, it would be written up that way in the instructions.
The instructions are very clear.

Fully packed bearings, void between bearings filled, and void between rear seal and rear bearing filled.
Beyond that its the typical light coating of grease on all the metal on metal slide/contact bits in the hub and lockout.

Glad to hear you havn't had any troubles. I'm assuming this is SINCE your first, botched install? <----- sorry, had to give you a bad time on that one



FYI, here is page from the installation instructions covering grease...

 

[UHAULER]

I was just about to buy the dynatrac kit for over $2,000 until I found out I Will need 2 cartridges of Grease. Too rich for me, I'm out.



Seriously, everything about the trucks have gotten better, bigger axles, bigger brakes, better engines and transmissions,etc. They did kinda cheap out on the front bearings.
I've had 2 superdutys, an 02 f350 7.3 and now an 04 f250,V10, 6 speed. Being retired, I only put about 4k miles a year hauling a camper, hauling building materials or hauling a dirtbike so unit bearings are fine for my situation.

 

[NORDFORD]

There is no doubt the Dynatrac kit is the way to go! Great product! Not to mention how little space replacement/spare bearings take. I’d have a set with me on any trip, especially out of the country.
I’ve only owned two superdutys. An 04 and an 07. Both had unit bearing failures before 50k miles.
If you’ve owned several superdutys and never had a unit bearing fail, your idea of good and bad are different than mine...

 

[IdaSHO]

Thats a great point about packing spare bearings.
They are cheap, small, and light when compared to unit bearings.

I may just do that. Order a replacement set of bearing and races, rear hub seals, vacuum seal them all, and toss them into the spares kit.

 

[IdaSHO]

Nothing really to report. Hopefully that stub lands tomorrow to finish the install.

But while cleaning up the shop I realized that I could still assemble the hub onto the spindle without the stub,
and figured it would be a great opportunity to compare OEM unit bearing to this conversion, side by side.

The conversion hubs, including the Warn premium lockouts are right at 3-1/2" longer/wider than the OEM unit bearing and OEM lockout.

Weighs considerably more as well... But there is a lot of substance here.

 

[IdaSHO]

Stub arrived today, so everything is now back together.
Install was super easy. No surprises.

Buttery smooth now....
Ill put on as many miles as I can this week without the camper, then back into the shop for retorque.

Then the camper goes back on.

 

[deserteagle56]

Buttery smooth now....

One of the first things I noticed after installing the kit on my Dodge.......